


singularity

by crownsandbirds



Series: nanowrimo 2018 [2]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Haircuts, Power Dynamics, Siblings, Storytelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 08:24:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16530947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crownsandbirds/pseuds/crownsandbirds
Summary: in a slightly happier universe, Illumi is the one responsible for trimming Alluka's hair twice a year, and sometimes he tells her stories.





	singularity

**Author's Note:**

> "is there somebody who can watch you?"  
> (the 1975)
> 
> important:  
> this is set in a slightly happier universe where illumi is slightly less awful, because i suddenly thought "okay but if alluka doesnt come in contact with anyone, who cuts her hair?"  
> she/her pronouns bc im trans and i cant ignore alluka's gender even in a fictional setting. so just pretend illumi respects that.

It was, after all, the most obvious choice. ****

Considering it was too dangerous for Alluka to be in touch with anyone outside her immediate family, considering the butlers couldn't be trusted to spend any amount of time around her, and that no one felt courageous enough to allow her to handle any sharp objects without supervision;

Considering Illumi was the vainest among them when it came to his hair, and had been dealing with it by himself since the beginning of his adolescent years, including taking care of trimming it to his tastes and forbidding anyone else from even coming close to touching it (with the exception of Hisoka, who was fond of pulling it and wrapping his fist around it and threading his fingers through the long strands, but Hisoka was a different subject entirely);

It fell to the oldest Zoldyck child the duty of cutting Alluka's hair twice a year. 

The first encounter, Illumi arrived with his scissors and comb and hair pins, closed the door behind himself, accepted Alluka's happy hug - she had been young enough on the time of her imprisonment to not remember who had put her there, and so she held no resentment against him. 

He sat graciously on his ankles in front of her and braced himself for the three requests she would definitely make.

“Aniki, die for me?” she asked happily while pointing a finger gun at him. He did. He couldn't remember the last time he'd done this - probably back when Kalluto was still a child, years ago. For a brief moment, he also considered he couldn't recall when he'd stopped being onii-chan and started being aniki.

“Aniki, give me a fingernail?”

“Aniki, give me a toenail?” 

He did easily. When she turned into Nanika, he simply asked for her to heal his hand and foot - it was astounding, how weak and powerless her human body was, and how infinitely strong the parasite; the warm magic flowing through him felt like nothing he had ever experienced before. He would've regretted not asking for something larger, more impressive, he could’ve asked for the entire world and then some - but he had been ordered by his father not to, and he would be the only person to come in contact with her again. So, she healed him, a cold little white hand touching his and those big, endless black eyes staring up at him. Then, he moved to sit behind her back and set out to cutting the split ends of her hair.

It started out as a quiet affair; Illumi wasn't one for talking nonsense or doing light conversation just for the sake of it, and Alluka was usually content in humming songs until he was done, after which she kissed his cheek and let him go. After two or three encounters, though, they started to talk sometimes. She mentioned new toys and plushies, or described her most interesting dreams. She consistently questioned him about his own life until he gave up and answered, and talking became something he had to expect during those twice-a-year meetings.

Around the time she turned eight years old and Killua stabbed Mother and Milluki to leave and Kalluto started following him on some jobs, Illumi caught himself walking towards her heavily-guarded room, for no reason other than watching her through the many cameras as she played with her toys and read books and napped. He never stayed for long, and he didn't really feel anything in particular, but it turned into part of his routine, to do so every time he stopped by at home in between missions. 

So he told her stories. 

Alluka often asked about his most exciting assassinations, and she seemed to have fun listening to his tales even if they were told with all the emotion to be expected from a police report or a doctor announcing the death of a patient. Illumi was no storyteller but his jobs could be interesting and Alluka was used to finding excitement by herself. She had a good-natured jealousy towards Kalluto for being allowed to follow him in some missions, but often asked after him as well, with all the innocence of a child who missed her older brother. 

She was fascinated by the Phantom Troupe from the very first time she heard about them, and Illumi found himself texting his youngest brother for all kinds of random information, so he could answer at least a few of Alluka's endless questions about the international gang of class A thieves - it was how he found out which was Feitan Portor's preferred author (a creepy one who drew strange eerie dolls and wrote using sexual metaphors about death), who had pierced Chrollo's ears (the same guy who had taken care of the spider tattoos for the original components of the Troupe) and why Shizuku's Nen ability was called Deme-chan (it was the name she had given to a stray dog that kept following her when she was a kid). 

Alluka was easy to please, kind and excitable, without the spoiled, bratty streak all the other Zoldyck siblings had. She was content with any small demonstration of affection, even if it was as miniscule as Illumi patting her head after he was done trimming her long hair that so closely resembled his own. She was, however, fondest of Killua, and in that she also resembled Illumi - she talked about him constantly, asked for stories about his new powers, his friendship with Gon, the places he had been visiting. She never complained about the many years that had passed since she had seen him - or anyone else other than Illumi - last. As a matter of fact, she never complained about anything. After their very first encounter, she never made him any sort of request other than asking for new stories, and he never used her power for anything other than trivial things like handing him something or touching his face. 

Her favorite stories were Gon and his friends coming to their mountain to rescue Killua, the assassination of the 10 mafia godfathers and Hisoka’s proposal to Illumi (a story that he himself had yet to comprehend in its entirety). 

Alluka had never met Hisoka, and probably never would, but she adored the chaotic idea of him, how he played and juggled with difficult situations and predicted their outcomes, how he toyed with people to his liking, how he'd managed to melt Illumi's ice cold heart at least to some degree, ending up often as the most interesting and unpredictable character in a good part of Illumi's stories. One of the times he remembered seeing her most excited was when she’d seen the silver ring on his finger and he confirmed her expectations that yes, he was married to the crazy fun clown he often talked about. She laughed heartily and clapped with delight every single time she heard her brother's description of Hisoka's utter disappointment at trying to fight Chrollo and finding out his Nen was blocked, up to the point where even Illumi started to feel a little entertained while telling those stories over and over.

He didn't love her, not exactly. He didn't feel for her the professional respect he felt for their father and grandfather, he didn't feel condescending as he did towards their mother, he didn't feel the protective affection he felt for Milluki and Kalluto born from years of raising and training them almost on his own, and he definitely didn't love her like he loved Killua. Hisoka was absurdly different from everything else, so he kept that out of the analysis. And since Illumi's narrow spectre of emotions didn't extend beyond that, he didn't know how to feel for his young, happy, easily excitable sister who seemed to adore him even if he had been one of the people to put her behind ten doors and lock her off from the rest of the world.

So, he kept going twice a year to her closed-off colorful bedroom, now and then asking Kalluto for random trivia about his teammates - his baby brother was happy about his team and heavily impressed by his Danchou and his new social circle, and he talked about them excitedly, and it made Illumi glad, even if a bit worried, to see him so delighted. He also unconsciously started to pay attention to the missions assigned to him, mentally preparing the tale he would, without fail, relay to her when they met.

Despite the confusion about his emotions and the world around them and everything that was happening outside the tall walls of Kukuroo Mountain, every year, twice a year, Illumi would cross the many doors and enter the many passwords and arrive at Alluka's confinement. She would run to him and hug him, yelling “Aniki!” (he would never be  _ onii-chan _ , some things never changed), he would maybe pet her head and then they would sit on the floor, Illumi on his ankles behind her.

“Aniki, tell me again about that time you killed the ten mafia patrons!” she would ask, her eyes shining so very much like Killua's and Kalluto's.

He would start combing her hair, silky and pitch-black like his, and monotonously retell the same story. 

“Yorknew is a big city in which happens the biggest auction in the world -”


End file.
